Locomotive fire box construction



July 16, 1935.

C. T. MCELVANEY LOCOMOTIVE FIRE BOX CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 6, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q my Czar-5 MUN INVEN TOR. /l/ze July 16., 1935. c. T. MCELVANEY' 2,008,559

LOCOMOTIVE FIRE BOX CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 6, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,m Oooo M wf/Q45 O a er ooocb o O G l n J o f INVENTOR. Q o/ o o o o o o o g 'arles 7,/

Patented July 16, 1935 NT OFFICE :LOCOMOTIVE FIRE BOX CONSTRUCTION Charles T. McElvaney, Dallas, Tex. Y 1 Application September 6, 1932, Serial No. 631,864

5 Claims.

rlfhis invention relates to a fire box construction for oil burning locomotive engines, boilers, and the like. i

Hereinafter for convenience the type of mechanism to which the invention relates will be referred to lsimply as a locomotive engine, but this is to be understood as illustrative only and not as in any way a limitation upon the scope of the invention.

In locomotive engines of the type under consideration in the arrangement ofiire box construction it is the prevailing practice to employ andrmake an expensive installation of a re pan, brick work and refractory lining for the nre pan. The fuel ejectorS and mixers and the arrangement of burners are also cumbersome and `in eilicient and it has been found almost impossible to prevent the use of an excessive'amount of oil. .,With the means described in present use a correct functioning of the engine `is impaired and an excessive amount of oil'is consumed.

The object offthis invention is to provide a re box construction for locomotive engines `which will eliminate the costly re pan, brick work and all refractory lining which isin general useat the present time. i

This invention also provides a novel fuel ejector and mixer which is exceptionally eli'icient and of simple and durable construction which will reduce the amount of oil consumed and add to the eiciency of the engine. A

A further object of the invention is the provision of a novel arrangement of the burner by means of which the fire is spread to all parts of the lire box instead of to one certain point as re.

Sults from the burner'and the instrumentalities` in use at the present time.

A further object of theinvention is to reduce the amount of draft required to lift the fire making it possible to use a larger nozzle tip which eliminates back pressure on the locomotive when it is working. v Y

A still further object of the invention is to place the burner or burner head approximately lin the center of the fire box, eliminating certain air openings which are now generally usedV for admitting air for combustion. A

With these and other objects in View the invention consists in general of the structural characteristics and combination of parts illustrated in the accompanying two sheets' of drawings, described in the following specification, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, wherein like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views,

(el. s-3) Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectionl of a typical locomotive lire box with the construction and arrangement of parts herein described.

Figure 2 shows a bottom View of the lire Shown in Figurel.r

Figure 3 is a detailed sectional view of ejector or mixer shown in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a front elevation of the burner facing the'fire door.

Figure 5 is a Sectional View taken through the l0 the fuel port holesrof Figure 4. Y

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6 6 of Figure 1. j

In the drawings I is the ejector'body that holds the ejector tube 2. Tube 2 is held in casing I by l5 a Spanner nut 4. Nozzle 3 is held in casing I by the Spanner nut 1. 4a is a pipe connection lbetween the 4ejector body and burner head 5. v 'lis a Spanner nut which holds steel pipe 8 and nozzle 3 toY body'of ejector I. 9`is a connection nut 2U which holds fuel oil pipe I0 to body of ejector I'.

II is a fuel oil valve which is connected by link I2 and through staff I3 to handle I4 which is manually operated. I5 is a steam tight casing around fuel pipe I0. Steam comes through pipe I6 into the upper end of casing or jacket I5 and surrounds fuel pipe I9, heating the oil and passes to the atmosphere through opening or vent Il.

The amount of steamadmitted to jacket I5 is manually controlled by steam valve' I8 which is 30 fedfrom manifold I9 and which is in turn fed from main fountain valve 20 through pipe 2|, placed in the dome, the highest part of the boiler, to obtain the driest steam possible.' Valve 22 con# trols steam admitted to manifold I9. When valve 22 `is open manifold I9 is continually charged kwith live steam. Pipe 8 leads from manifold I9 to ejector I and steam is controlled by a valve 23. Pipe 24 is a blow back'pipe to clean'out fuel oil line I0 in caseof foreign matter getting into fuel 40 line Ill and is controlled by valvev 26.

Pipe 25 is a blow back pipe to clean out ejector I and burner head 5 and is controlled by valve21. In pipe lines 24, 25, and 8 check valves 28 are placed to prevent fueloil from flowing into these steam pipes when the engine is dead and no steam in pipes. Y 29 is the mud ring of the boiler which is drilled and tapped to receive the studs 30. To thebotf` tom of mud ring 29 is secured a flat sheet of steel 50 3l which covers the entire bottom of the nre box and is made air tight between mud ring 29 and sheet 3| by asbestos padding or lagging and is held in place by the studs 30.

In the center Vof this sheet a stand 32 is placed 55 to support the connection 6 and the burner head 5. 33 is a casing around air inlet 34. Stand 32 and casing 33 are welded to sheet 3l and extend about six inches above the bottom of sheet 3 I. Common rock ballast is placedon the sheet 3| over its entire surface upto the top of stand 32 and air inlet casing 33. Y

The amount of air admitted to the re box through inlet 35 for combustion is controlled by damper plate 35 which is raised Vor lowered manuallyby chain 36 which extendsup through deck A of'a cab (not shown) and held in any desired position by latching chain 36 in a steel plate which is slotted to receive links of chain and fastened to deck or floor A.`

VAs shown in Figures @and 5, holes 5g. are

drilled through the body of burner head 5 to allow the steam and fuel Voil to spray,` over the back part of iire box. These holes 5a are drilled` from the bottom of burner head 5 starting in a horizontal row and then tWQ Yertically inclined rows from the ends` ofthe horizontal row' to the top side Yof the burner head 5;` Y

In operation as shown in Figure 1 steam is-ad- :mitted through valve 23 and pipe 3 whih passes through nozzle 2?-, The expansion Of. the steam as it leaves nozzle 3 and ente tube 2 creates a vacuum in the bedr i., This turn has a tendency to draw the fuel oil from the fuel oil supply pipe Id, the oil mixing with the steam as it leaves nozzle 3 and enters tube 2 and is forced up through the pipe 4a into the burner head 5 in the form of a spray or vapor where it isr iirst, ignited by a lighted piece of waste. The amount of fuel oil supplied to the ejector and burner head 5 is manuallyscontrolled by the fireman through the handle M, shaft i3, link l2; and fuel oil valve H. t

During the operation of the locomotive, when itis necessary to build up. a hotter fire, more oil is fed into the ejector body l by operation ofthe oil `valve il. It is usually desirable to mix more stehn?. With the oil in the ejector body as theY iire becomes hotter, so valve is operated to increase. the use of steam. The oil feed valve I l and steam valve 23 are shut off, when the locomotive de-` mands less oil and steam. It is shown that the fire is thrown to Vtheback headiof the boiler and to the Crown sheet @0, the air coming through inlet 34 (which is caused by a blower or induced by the Vacuum created by thev exhaust steam of the locomotive in the front end or smoke box discharging through a restricted exhaust opening called a nozzle tip) lifts the fire upwards and forward through the flues 50.

It isapparent that there is no need of any t brick work on refractory liningv along the fire box 6,55L Y ment herein described there is no need for the customary re pan tosupport same and is there- Y fore eliminated. Due to the fact that aV much .70; softerl fire is produced andrthat not as much draft is needed to lift the rire a very much larger nozzle tip can be used in the front end which eliminates backpressure on the locomotive when it is working. This in turn makes a more efcient locomotive with less fuel consumption forV the same amount of work than required by the same class locomotive with the present'recognized burner and arrangement.

Other alterations and modifications inV the formand arrangement of parts will readily suggest themselves to those skilled 'in the art and it is to be understood that such different forms of construction are contemplated as forming a part of this invention in so far as they fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new'is:

1. In a locomotive boiler the combination of a nrebox having fire tubes extending therefrom, a burner positioned in the center of the bottom of `the rebox, said'burner having a series of openings in one side and the top thereof, said openings being directed away from said iire tubes, and means for supplying a mixture of steam and oil Vto said burner. Y Y Y 2. In alocomotive boiler the combination of aV firebox having fire tubes `extending therefrom, a.

burner positioned in the center of the bottom .ofl

ings in one side, theV said openings being spaced in a horizontal 'row near therebox bottom YandY two rows extending inclinedly upwardly andoutwardly from the ends of the said-horizontal row, the said openings `,being directed'away from the fire tubes, Vand means forsupplying a mixture of steam and oil to said burner. Y Y

4. In a locomotive boiler the combination of a rebox havingrire tubes extendingtherefrom, a burner positioned Ain the center of the bottom of the firebox,said burner having a series of op,en V r ings in onev side, said openings beingspaced in a horizontal Arow near thebase of the burner and two rows extending inclinedly upwardly and outwardlyirom the ends of the said horizontal row n and the upwardly and outwardly inclined rows converging with a second horizontal row near the top of the burner, said openings being directed away from said fire tubes, and means for supplying a mixture of steam and oil to said burner.

5. In a locomotive boiler the combination of a Firebox havingfire tubes extending therefrom, a burner positioned in the center near the bottom of theV iirebox, said burner having a series of openings in one side and in the top thereof, said openings being directed away from said fire tubes,v and the firebox having an inlet in its bottonrnear the front thereof for supplying air to said burner to support combustion.

'Y CHARLES fr.v MeELvANEY. 

